Hyundai files Ioniq P trademark in India for its small EV

A name on paper, not yet a car

Hyundai has filed a trademark application for the name Ioniq P in India, Autocar India reported on 4 November 2026. The application is still under examination. Neither Hyundai nor the government's trademark register has confirmed that the name will be used, so for now this is a filed claim on a name, nothing more.

Autocar India and Rushlane both link the name to a project Hyundai's own management has already spoken about on an investor call, an electric SUV internally coded HE1i. It is expected to sit below the Creta Electric as Hyundai's cheapest EV for India. Rushlane's report of 30 October 2026 says the car will be built at Hyundai's Sriperumbudur plant in Tamil Nadu and is being aimed at the Bharat Mobility Expo in 2027.

The platform has already been spied abroad

The HE1i is expected to use Hyundai's E-GMP(K) platform, the same underpinnings as the Inster, sold in South Korea as the Casper Electric. That car has been a regular subject for international spy shot titles. Motor1.com photographed a camouflaged Inster test mule in Korea with a bolder off-road bumper, running on the same 42 kWh and 49 kWh battery options Hyundai later confirmed for the production Inster. US title Autoblog has separately flagged a short, tall test mule with a boxy upright body as a sign Hyundai is readying a new entry point below its global Ioniq lineup, a profile that matches what Indian spotters have already photographed on test mules on local roads.

None of this confirms the India car's own battery size or range. Autocar India's report says the EV has been spied, its word, both abroad and in India, with a boxy body, LED lighting and dual tone alloy wheels, but gives no numbers for the Indian version pending an official reveal.

What it means for Indian buyers

A trademark filing is a paperwork step, not a launch confirmation. It tells IP India that Hyundai wants the exclusive right to sell a product under this name here, and it is consistent with a 2027 launch window that Hyundai has already signalled through its investor commentary rather than through any press release. Buyers should treat Ioniq P as expected, not confirmed, until Hyundai India puts the name on an actual car.

If the India car does inherit the Inster's platform, the global spy shots already in circulation are a reasonable guide to its proportions, a short, tall hatchback-like SUV built for city use rather than the Creta Electric's larger footprint. Hyundai has said it plans to localise battery cell supply through Exide after an initial phase of imported cells, which should help keep the price below the Creta Electric once the car is confirmed.

Until Hyundai itself names a date, a price or a battery figure for the Indian car, every number attached to Ioniq P, including the Inster's own 42 kWh and 49 kWh packs, belongs to a different market and a different name.

Sources

• Hyundai Ioniq P name trademarked in India
• Hyundai sub 4m EV for India could launch as Ioniq P, name trademarked
• Korean Hyundai Inster prepares for off-roading
• Hyundai Is Testing a Small, Entry-Level Electric SUV